Episode #267 - The Ties That Bind

In the lobby of the Silver Conference Pokemon Centre, Ash and Gary
trade insults. Gary brings out half of a PokeBall, reminding Ash that
their match will be six on six and predicts that Ash will lose. Ash is
speechless with anger.

Later, Ash gets a half PokeBall out of his backpack and tells his
friends that it was the first one he received. He and Gary had been
fishing, and yelling at each other from either side of the stream. They
both felt a bite, which turned out to be a PokeBall tangled in their
lines, and they pulled until the PokeBall broke. Ash called it a draw,
but Gary refused to admit it, saying a tie with Ash is as good as a
loss. Now Ash carries the half PokeBall as a good luck charm. Since
the next day is a day off, Ash plans to work on his strategy.

Team Rocket is ready to sell their next batch of fake badges, and
because of the day off they decide to have a special sale.

In the morning, Misty finds Ash and Brock looking at Pokemon Web
sites and books. Ash crashes the computer, so Misty suggests to take a
break for breakfast. Outside, they discuss Gary; he doesn't seem to
prefer one single type of Pokemon, so he'll be hard to beat. Suddenly
Charizard appears, and playfully toasts Ash in greeting! Brock admits
to calling Liza the night before.

Gary comes outside, and the atmosphere becomes tense. However, the
arrival of Professor Oak and Ash's mother calms things down, and the
Professor offers to update the boys' Pokedexes. Before he can discuss
much with them, Gary takes his leave to resume his training. Brock
tells Ash to continue his research, and his mother encourages him.

Team Rocket is dancing with happiness over the haul of money they've
made, but James is now obssessed with making more badges to sell.

The day of the Victory Tournament dawns, and Team Rocket is doing
brisk business. An announcer says that the field will change randomly
during the battle: ground, rock, water, or ice. Harrison and his
Sneasel win their match and advance to the second round. He wishes Ash
good luck and says he'll be waiting. Brock and Misty, along with
several Pokemon, are sitting on a bench behind Ash's position.

The field is selected as Rock, and Gary starts with a Nidoqueen.
Ash chooses Tauros and charges into battle, but Nidoqueen defeats it
with just one Hyper Beam! Brock comments that Ash has to be more
creative with his attacks. Ash selects Heracross but Gary recalls
Nidoqueen and substitutes Magmar, putting Heracross at a disadvantage.
Magmar unleashes a powerful attack, but Heracross manages to shrug it
off and strike back hard, knocking out Magmar!

Gary seems unworried and says that Ash is being reckless as usual.
His next Pokemon is Blastoise, the final form of the Squirtle that he
received when he first started, and his most powerful Pokemon. However,
Heracross still has a lot of fight left. The winner of this match can
be anybody's guess...